Protect What Works
For more than forty years, the U.S. has relied on a research and intellectual property system that moves discoveries from universities into public use.
Protecting a clear, predictable patent system is more important than ever.
Why Intellectual Property Rights Matter
Intellectual property rights form the foundation of innovation by providing clarity, security, and incentives for discovery.
Intellectual property provides the essential framework that allows researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors to confidently move discoveries from laboratory to marketplace. This system protects the rights of creators while enabling the broader public to benefit from technological advances.
- Provides clarity about ownership
- Reduces uncertainty for partners and investors
- Creates incentives to develop early-stage discoveries
- Enables university research to move beyond the lab
What Is at Risk
Policy changes can create unintended consequences that undermine the core mechanisms of innovation. Weak protections reduce investment in promising research and slow the translation of discoveries into market-ready products and services.
These impacts include fewer startups, reduced access to new technologies, and a decline in public-private partnerships. The long-term result is an economy that becomes less competitive and less able to address pressing challenges.
This isn’t about preserving institutions. It’s about preserving outcomes.
How the Bayh-Dole Act Fuels Innovation
The Bayh-Dole Act created a system that enables effective technology transfer from universities to industry.
By allowing universities, small businesses, and nonprofits to retain rights to federally funded inventions, the Bayh-Dole Act creates a predictable path from research to real-world use. This system has enabled licensing agreements, startup formation, and private investment that drive innovation forward.
Retains rights
Universities, small businesses, and nonprofits can manage inventions responsibly.
Enables licensing
Research can move into the private sector for development and distribution.
Supports startups
Clear ownership helps founders attract investment and form companies.
Drives public benefit
Innovation reaches patients, consumers, and communities faster.
- Universities retain ownership of inventions
- Enables licensing to private sector
- Supports startup formation and investment
- Accelerates development for public use
Myth vs. Fact
Click any card to reveal the fact behind the myth.
Myth: University-held intellectual property limits public access
Fact: IP protections enable development and real-world use
Strong intellectual property rights encourage universities to license their innovations widely, making breakthrough discoveries available to the public through commercial applications.
Myth: The system prioritizes profit over public interest
Fact: Public benefit is built into the system
Federal funding agreements require that inventions be made available to the public and that benefits be shared broadly, ensuring alignment with national interest.
Myth: Innovation would move faster without IP protections
Fact: Uncertainty reduces investment and slows progress
Without secure intellectual property rights, investors cannot recover their costs, which diminishes the capital needed to bring innovations to market.
Myth: The Bayh-Dole Act primarily benefits large corporations
Fact: Small businesses and startups also benefit
The Act has enabled thousands of small companies and startups to commercialize university research, including many that have become major success stories in fields like biotech and clean energy.